Foodie Friday-was that really just a week ago!?

Has it already been a week since I was at AWBU Foodie Friday? Wow! Time really gets by in a hurry!

Look at these adorable little recipe books that greeted us as we arrived. Julie from Eggs and Herbs made them for us! We each had our own blog name on our own notebook. Thanks, Julie. I know that was time consuming.

After spending a bit of time socializing we started the program.

First we heard from Greg Patterson from Farm Bureau. You can find Greg over at Taste Arkansas.

He is also in charge of Front Porch Magazine. As a Farm Bureau member, I enjoy getting this magazine in my mailbox.

Next up was Chef Donnie Ferneau. You can read about his newest restaurant, Cellar 220, here.

Chef Ferneau gave us some chefly advise:

•Buy fresh, in season, and local

•Practice your knife skills

•Planning-everything has its place. Do some pre-cutting to make your meal prep. go more smoothly.

• Menu-Choose your menu wisely.

•Cook everything at 500˚

Dr. Meenakshi Budhraja aka Dr. B talked about healthy eating.

I loved how she said you choose your health. “You choose health or you choose disease.”

Big take-aways from Dr. B:

•Only drink water

•No snacks

•Cook at home with great recipes you read on Pork Chop Tuesday. Okay, I added some of those words.

Kelly Brant, food editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, spoke about some legal matters concerning recipes and food.

•ALWAYS give credit to the original source. Say something like “adapted from” or “inspired by”, otherwise you are plagiarizing!

•If using a cookbook, link to the author’s website or publishing house or a local bookstore.

•A recipe is considered a list. A list can not be under copyright protection.  Photographs ARE protected under copyright laws.

Liz Bray is a personal chef from Benton, AR. She was very fun and energetic. Plus she gave us some samples!

•FAT IS BACK! I know you are all glad to hear that! Gone are the days of “fat-free” this and that. Our bodies need fat!

•Flax seed, a natural laxative, is also helpful with keeping hot flashes in check. I think I’ll tuck that little tidbit back for later use!

•Extra Virgin Coconut Oil has the same healthy properties as breast milk. Hmmmm.

•She also had this fancy pressure cooker. Now, she was not selling these cookers. She just happened to be using hers for her demonstration.

It was at this  point I had to leave the Foodie Friday event. I had such mixed emotions about leaving. Perhaps that contributed to my nervousness. I really didn’t want to miss a minute of the conference. The Foodie Friday was a bonus event. The actual kick-off of the conference was that evening.

I missed out on getting to meet Stephanie from the Plain Chicken blog.

I have been stalking her blog for a while now. She gave a talk entitled “The Business of Food Blogging”. I hated to miss that!

I also had to miss the Big Event Challenge and the Kick-Off and reception with P. Allen Smith. That was a bummer. That makes TWICE I’ve missed hanging out with him. I did, however, get to meet him at a Blue Cross event one Saturday morning. He just seems like such a nice guy!

Why did I have to miss all this good stuff?

My daughter has the privilege of being the drum major of the band this year! That night was her very first game. There was no way I was going to miss out on that!

So, I drove an hour back home, then close to two hours to the away game. It was hot, so the band didn’t wear their full uniform.

I was so proud of my girl! I was also very happy she didn’t fall off the drum major stand!

So, Saturday morning I got up really early and drove back to the conference. I got to see a beautiful sunrise.

When it came time to go to the break-out sessions, there was one called “Being a Mom and a Writer”. I’m sure there was some fabulous information in that session. However, I felt like I had LIVED that experience the previous night.

Blogging is fun. I enjoy it. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even make some money somehow. However, for now my family has to come first. Your daughter only has ONE first time directing the band. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!